Neurosurgeon and FMUL Professor in NASA research project

By Joana Ferreira de SousaOn 27 September, 20192019 | Science SpaceComments Off on Neurosurgeon and FMUL Professor in NASA research projectNo tags

Image credits: Observador

“Edson Santos Oliveira, neurosurgeon at Santa Maria Hospital and Professor at FMUL, is part of a project that aims to study a space flight-induced neuro-ocular syndrome. This is a project conducted by NASA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Massachusetts General Hospital.

The research aims to find out why space travel significantly reduces vision. According to the expert, “it is suspected that in space there is a long-term increase in intracranial pressure from the chronic point of view, leading to ocular hypertension”, hence the need to measure intracranial pressure in space to validate a non-evasive device developed by the MIT that measures this pressure.

Dr Edson Santos Oliveira further states that visual acuity decreases with the permanence of the Space Station, capable of reaching values of 30% in six months. Alongside this, there are still changes in the retina and eyeball.

In addition to the changes mentioned, there are also “anatomical changes in the brain, identified on magnetic resonance imaging”. There is also loss of calcium and bone density”.